Prince Harry’s Ancestor Reportedly Executed Meghan Markle’s Ancestor

Well, at this point, we are used to a whole range of Prince Harry-Meghan Markle stories, on a weekly basis, some of them more verifiable than others. But we cannot remember a Markle-Harry item running that revolved around an incident that took place . . . 10 generations ago.

Yes, a new report, via The Sunday Telegraph,sets forth that, based on a study of Meghan Markle’s family tree, it appears her ancestor was, uh, beheaded by Prince Harry’s ancestor. O.K.!

Let’s dig into this a bit . . . back when Henry VIII (1491-1547) was reigning in Britain, there was a plot orchestrated by a man named Lord Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford, to attempt to overthrow the monarch. As a result, Henry VIII had him beheaded (his “wealth and land” were taken away as well).

Hussey, as it turns out, was the great-great-great grandfather of Captain Christopher Hussey, who would later become a founding father of Nantucket (really tough to predict the turns of this tale, huh?). Ten generations later, in Christopher’s family tree, arrives Thomas Markle, Meghan’s father. Thomas would marry Doria Ragland, and Meghan was born in 1981.

As jarring as such a headline might be to any of us, imagine what it must be like for Meghan and Harry themselves. Meghan’s scrolling through her phone at the kitchen table while Harry waits by the toaster. “Babe, uh, have you . . . been online today?” “No, why?” “Your . . . I guess this is saying your, I . . . your ancestor executed my ancestor? I don’t know . . .” Harry flinches. “Oh god.” “Yeah.” Harry takes his toast out. “So, uh, should we do Stranger Things or Mindhunter tonight?”